Thanks to the glories of the On Demand video offerings at the city's Office of Cable Television web site, I was able to catch Wednesday's hearing on the request to close the 8,197-square-foot alley that bisects Square 696, the block bounded by I, K, First, and Half streets that DRI Development bought in April for $64 million. As I posted a few weeks ago after DRI's presentation to ANC 6D, DRI is planning more than 825,000 square feet of office and retail on the block, in three buildings that would be built in three phases, the first being a 300,000-square-foot office building along I Street that could begin construction in the summer of 2008.

As part of its successful bid to get the ANC's support, DRI and its development partner Jamestown Properties have committed to a $100,000 payment to the Near Southeast/Southwest community fund, LEED certification, and an 8,000-square-foot public plaza at First and K streets to replace the "public space" being lost by the alley closing.

The early part of the hearing was pretty standard as these types of sessions go. The development's representatives described their agreement with the ANC, and also the planned 37,000-square-feet of retail what would serve not only the office tenants but also the residential projects that will soon surround the block on all sides. Also touted were the large south-facing public plaza (light-filled and sunny!) with a 20-foot-wide pedestrian "breezeway" through the block to open the area to pedestrians arriving from I Street, the innovative loading ramps within turnaround space inside the buildings to eliminate the need for commercial vehicles to back up or turn around out in the streets, the fitness center with changing and shower facilities to encourage bicycle use, and more.

Then, Council Member Tommy Wells began to ask questions about the amount of the developers' required contribution to the city's Housing Production Trust Fund, dedicated to the creation of affordable housing. Wells brought up a slight discrepancy between the number the developers were citing versus what the Office of Planning had determined the figure to be.

Developer figure? Approximately $890,000.

Office of Planning figure? More like $8 million.

The hearing then became a blur of real and estimated assessed values, total F.A.R. based on T.D.R.s (that's total floor-area ratios based on transfers of development rights, for those of you whose minds are blissfully unsullied with this stuff), buildable square footage, and on-the-fly calculations. Council Chairman Vincent Gray, after commenting that even the $890,000 figure cited by the developers would be the largest trust fund contribution ever, wondered how many projects in the District "would see the light of day" if the city starts talking about $8 million contributions. Wells and Gray agreed that the calculating discrepancies need to be resolved so that the trust fund law can be implemented consistently, and the hearing ended with pledges from the applicant to provide additional information.

And despite the wrangling over the trust fund contribution, Council Member Wells made sure to reiterate that he supports the project, especially because of the environmentally friendly aspects of the design.

In the meantime, the last tenant on the block (a taxi repair garage) will be vacating when its lease expires in February.

Check my Square 696 page for an early sitemap of the project, along with photos of the block.

NEW BUILDING PERMIT FOR NEW COMMUNITY CENTER INCLUDING STEEL STRUCTURE BRICK AND MASONRY BACKUP

1240 12TH ST SE

02/19/15
WASHINGTON GAS LIGHT CO / CARLTON W ROBINSON

E1503465 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

909 HALF ST SE

02/25/15
23 I LLC C/O RELATED COMPANIES / DAVID MILLER

SB1500157 /
CONSTRUCTION

INSTALLATION AND MONITORING OF 8 INCLINOMETER MONITORING SYSTEMS.
THREE INCLINOMETER CASINGS TO BE INSTALLED ALONG THE K STREET BORDER OF THE PROJECT.
THREE CASINGS TO BE INSTALLED ALONG THE I STREET BORDER OF THE PROJECT.
TWO CASINGS TO BE INSTALLED ALONG THE HALF STREET BORDER OF THE PROJECT.

A HOLLOW STEM AUGER WILL INSTALL UP TO 30 TEMPORARY DEWATERING WELLS BY ADVANCING A 12 OD / 8 1 / 4 ID BOREHOLE TO A DEPTH OF 65 FEET. AT DEPTH A 4 INCH PVC FLUSH JOINT THREADED WELL ASSEMBLY WILL BE SET AND SELECT FILTER PLACED. INTO EACH WELL WILL BE INSTALLED A 1 HP TURBINE SUBMERSIBLE PUMP. EFFLUENT WILL BE DIRECTED THROUGH A COMMON MANIFOLD TO A BAFFLED SETTLING TANK AND DISCHARGED TO THE LO...

1015 HALF ST SE

02/12/15
THOMAS AN / THOMAS AN; HYH ELECTRIC CO. INC.

SG1500156 /
CONSTRUCTION

INSTALL ONE SINGLE FACE BUILDING SIGN AND ONE DOUBLE FACE BLADE SIGN

02/18/15
HALF ST SE LLC / STEPHEN R. HOLMAN

P1503532 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

50 M ST SE

02/18/15
ENGLEWOOD LLC / FVI2020

FD1500010 /
CONSTRUCTION

FOUNDATION OF GRADE RELATED TO CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW HOTEL

55 M ST SE

02/24/15 HINES GLOBAL REIT 55 M STREET LLC / ANDREW P CARAYIANNIS

M1501184 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

100 M ST SE

02/11/15
SQUARE 743 INC. / JOHN GIUSEPPE-RAMCO

TL1500062 /
CONSTRUCTION

FIRST TIME TENANT TO BUILDOUT AND OCCUPY TENANT SPACE ON PART OF THE 7TH FLOOR THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND AS SHOWN ON THE ATTACHED THIRD PARTY REVIEWED AND APPROVED MECH. .PLUMB. ELECT. FIRE PROTECTION AND ARCHITECTURAL PLANS BY KTA.
INTERIOR WORK ONLY. NO CHANGE IN USE. NO STRUCTURAL WORK INVOLVED.

02/13/15
SQUARE 743 INC / RONNIE E WRIGHT

E1503331 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

02/13/15
SQUARE 743 INC / DAVID FLEMING

P1503495 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

02/19/15
SQUARE 743 INC / DAVID FLEMING

P1503597 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

02/20/15
SQUARE 743 INC / GREGORY E LIGON

E1503498 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

02/23/15 SQUARE 743 INC / ANTHONY G SAMBURG

E1503518 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

901 M ST SE

02/19/15
US GOVERNMENT NAVY PWC / SUMMIT CONSTRUCTION AND ES

B1504570 /
CONSTRUCTION

REQUEST AND E&S PERMIT FOR WORK ON FEDERAL INSTALLATION. INSTALLING FOOTINGS AND SLAB WITH PORTCH SUPPORTS. MINOR GRADING AND SEEDING. BUILDING FOOTPRINT IS UNDER 700SF. LAND DISTURBANCE INCLUDING GRADING AND SEEDING IS UNDER 2 500SF.